'Deepali spoke to bro on May 19'

'Deepali spoke to bro on May 19'
Preetu Nair & Rajeshree Nagarsekar, TNN

PANAJI: The alleged kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Deepali Jotkar of Davorlim took an interesting turn on Friday with her parents informing the Maina Curtorim police that their son was recently in touch with Deepali.

Speaking to TOI, Deepali's mother Reshma said that Bhupendra informed them on Friday, that he received a call from Deepali on Tuesday (May 19) from a cellphone in Pune.

"My son told us that my Deepali had called him on his mobile and she was crying bitterly. She told him that she is in Pune and is not allowed to speak to anyone. This is the first call she made to us after she went missing in 2006," Reshma said, recalling that previous efforts by the family and police to contact Deepali on her cellphone had proved futile.

It may be recalled that the Jotkars on May 11, filed a case with the Maina Curtorim police outpost, alleging that Deepali was a possible victim of alleged murderer Mahanand Naik.

Drawing parallels between Mahanand's 10 victims and Deepali, the parents had told the police that on November 23, 2006, the day she disappeared, Deepali too was carrying cash and wearing jewellery. Moreover, she left home without informing her parents and left behind a note that said: "I am going to Mumbai with my boyfriend and we will get married. You don't search for me. Don't doubt or blame anyone". Neighbours too revealed that they had seen the alleged dupatta killer, who was known to the Jotkars, dropping Deepali close to her home almost everyday.

Adding fuel was the statement of Reema Naik (name changed), an alleged rape victim of Mahanand's, who told TOI that "Mahanand's wife suspected her husband was having an extra marital affair with Deepali".

"Once in 2006, Deepali even called Mahanand on his mobile. When I picked up the phone, she introduced herself and asked for Mahanand, who immediately came and cut the line. I have also seen her photograph at Mahanand's house," Reema had told TOI.

Police officials told TOI that the new turn of eventsthe mobile call from Punewould be inquired into.

Meanwhile, the Jotkars have another tale of woe. In 2005, younger daughter Pallavi, then 17, went missing.

"I worked in the Gulf as a housemaid for 14 years. I worked hard, sometimes under unhealthy conditions, just to ensure a better future for my daughters. But when I returned to Goa in 2005, Pallavi disappeared. A year later, so did Deepali. When efforts to trace them failed, we thought of lodging missing persons complaints, but were scared of the public backlash. We thought the girls were happy in their marital homes," Reshma told TOI.

However, when Mahanand's exploits came to light, things changed. "Both Deepali and Pallavi were close to Mahanand who had come to our house with them. They introduced him as their friend and we had given him the contract work to repair our house on our daughters' recommendations," recalled the mother.

With Mahanand allegedly confessing to the murders of 10 women, the senior Jotkars, who till recently believed their younger daughter was in Kolhapur with her husband, now feel that Pallavi too might have been killed by Mahanand.

"All this while we were ashamed that our daughters had eloped. We were scared to face people. But not anymore. We will lodge another complaint with the police against Mahanand, this time for kidnapping Pallavi," father Dattaram told TOI.

The parents had consulted astrologers. "An astrologer recently told me that my daughter is alive," said Reshma, adding, "I just want to see both my daughters."

23 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition